Date & Time:
Apr 3, 1943 at 2320 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT808
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Leeming - Leeming
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Leeming at 1958LT on an operation to Essen. In the late evening, passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Vierlingsbeek. Five crew members were killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
W/O William James McAlpine, pilot, †
Sgt Howard McQueen, flight engineer, †
W/O John Day White, navigator, †
F/Lt Floyd Edward Luxford, bomb aimer, †
W/O Joseph Walter Halikowski, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Ernest Bradley, air gunner,
F/Lt Wlliam Lawrence Murphy, air gunner.
Crew:
W/O William James McAlpine, pilot, †
Sgt Howard McQueen, flight engineer, †
W/O John Day White, navigator, †
F/Lt Floyd Edward Luxford, bomb aimer, †
W/O Joseph Walter Halikowski, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Ernest Bradley, air gunner,
F/Lt Wlliam Lawrence Murphy, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
